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Bottom line: Hawks win tonight would be huge

Q. Let’s just get right to it: what the heck happened to the Blackhawks on Tuesday?

A. I think they were surprised by the way the L.A. Kings played between the two games in Chicago and the game in L.A. For a team like the Kings who have been so successful on home ice, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise.

But I think they have a better understanding of what L.A. can bring to the table now — especially at home. It’s up to the Blackhawks to respond accordingly after the disappointing effort in the first game there.

Q. Does L.A. do something better at home or do they just give a better effort?

A. They have the emotion of the crowd and in Game 3 they got that early goal and for a team that defense so well with the lead, they played their game to T.

They were able to get some hits on some of the key players on the Blackhawks that they were looking to do in Chicago but weren’t able to do.

They executed their game plan better than the Blackhawks did, and that was the difference in the game.

Q. Is the good news for the Hawks, that despite not playing well, they were still in the game?

A. That’s a real good way to look at it. As ineffective as the Blackhawks were, they still had an opportunity. If Jonathan Quick doesn’t come up with that big save on Bryan Bickell, that game is going into overtime and you have an opportunity to be up 3-0.

You know you have to be better, but you can look at some positives coming out of that game. You look at Bickell’s performance again — spectacular. You look at the play of Corey Crawford — he gave us an opportunity to win that game.

Q. Talk about the loss of Duncan Keith for a game due to a suspension.

A. There’s nothing you can do about it. It’s done. It’s over with. Put a healthy body in there and look for him and the other players to step up and fill that void.

Keith has been the ice-time leader against the Kings, so it’s a big loss. But other teams have dealt with losses. Mike Richards didn’t play in the last couple of games and that’s a big loss for L.A., but they were able to find a way.

You have to find a way to move forward.

Q. Talk about the importance of tonight’s Game 4.

A. It’s absolutely huge. You win and the series is 3-1 and you’re going back to the United Center where you’ve only lost one game and you know you’re going to have a raucous crowd and you’re looking at an opportunity to get into the Stanley Cup finals.

But if you lose Game 4 ... then you’ve got a whole different series.

ŸTroy Murray is in his 13th year as a member of the Blackhawks broadcast team and his eighth year as the color analyst for the team’s radio broadcasts. The Selke Award winner was a five-time 20-goal scorer and a veteran of 15 years in the NHL, playing in 915 career games.

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